.@esaagar: "It's important to understand too what [WH officials] mean whenever they say hoax...it's not a hoax that the Russians meddled in the 2016 election. They view a hoax as the media narrative that they actively colluded with the Russians and that they obstructed justice." pic.twitter.com/FFG5kzFNBb

"I asked him again," Trump told reporters on a flight to Hanoi. "You can only ask so many times... He said he absolutely did not meddle in our election. He did not do what they are saying he did.

"I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it... I think he's very insulted, if you want to know the truth."

Come on. How about this?

That was just last September. He's not talking about his own alleged involvement. He's saying the whole Facebook thing was a hoax.

This is utter nonsense. But then, when it comes to this White House, what isn't?

During the debates he was clear that he didn't believe there was any Russian hacking.

October 2016:

"But I notice, anytime anything wrong happens, they like to say the Russians are — she doesn't know if it's the Russians doing the hacking. Maybe there is no hacking. But they always blame Russia. And the reason they blame Russia because they think they're trying to tarnish me with Russia. I know nothing about Russia."

September 2016:

"I don't know if we know it was Russia who broke into the DNC. She keeps saying Russia, Russia, Russia. Maybe it was. It could also be China, it could be someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds."

He'd had national security briefings by this time. He knew. And he knew the government knew.